


Sehnsucht

by potentiallySAFE (potentiallyAWKWARD)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AU, F/M, Marauders' Era, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Time Travel, WIP, snamione
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-23
Updated: 2018-04-27
Packaged: 2019-04-26 19:52:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14409420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/potentiallyAWKWARD/pseuds/potentiallySAFE
Summary: Sehnsucht is "a feeling of nostalgia that faces towards the future."Hermione Granger has sworn she is willing to sacrifice everything to help conquer Lord Voldemort. Little does she know that everything she has may be exactly what The Order needs from her.





	1. Chapter 1

"Are you sure this letter is for me?" Hermione asked the third year for the twelfth time. "Not Harry, or all three of us?"

The girl nodded eagerly. "Yes, Professor Dumbledore told me this is for you only, and Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were not to see it."

"Alright," Hermione finally sighed after examining the heavy parchment envelope for several moments. It was marked with the Hogwarts seal- oddly formal for a message from Dumbledore.

She sat down in the red plush armchair that had become unofficially her own in her six years at Hogwarts and slowly opened the letter.

 _Miss Granger,_ it read,

 _You are probably wondering why I am summoning you to my office at such an hour and without Harry or Ron. It is because I have a mission for you of the utmost importance that only you can carry out. Please meet me in my office at 9:00 with your truck fully packed as you won't be finishing the year here at Hogwarts. You may say goodbye to Harry and Ron but do not tell them of my mission. You must make up an excuse as to why you're leaving. I assure you that I would not ask what I am asking of you unless it was vital. I will explain more at 9:00._  
_Most sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

Hermione had to read it several times to let the words sink in. She was leaving for the year and it was only November! She had to say goodbye to her two best friends without an explanation and might not ever see them again! She closed her eyes and slumped into the chair. She only had an hour to prepare everything.

~~~

"You're leaving us?" Harry repeated, mouth agape. "You, Hermione Granger, are dropping out of school?"

Hermione nodded, mouth set in a firm but quivering line. Her eyes were close to overflowing with tears but she held them in. After all, leaving to tend to one's sick mother was not usually a final goodbye.

"Bloody hell, now I'm never going to pass my classes," was Ron's poor attempt at a joke. He looked rather close to tears as well.

Harry wrapped both arms around Hermione's body and hugged her, cheek resting on the top of her head. "Stay safe, 'Mione. We'll be waiting for you when you come back."

She swallowed the lump in her throat. "Course, Harry. The most dangerous thing I'll face is crap daytime telly," she responded.

He pulled away, looking at her. His electric green eyes seemed to pierce her soul. Hermione smiled feebly, tears spilling over her eyelids.

"Bye then," said Ron awkwardly, stepping forward and holding out his arms. Hermione laughed, sniffing, and folded herself into Ron's arms.

"Keep Harry safe, and don't do anything stupid," Hermione whispered, heart breaking into a million pieces as she pulled away from Ron.

She tried to look sternly at both of them. "Now just because I won't be here doesn't mean you should stop worrying about school. And don't get yourselves into trouble, I won't be here to save you gits."

They all half laughed. Hermione wiped her eyes and stood up straight. Grabbing her wand out of her robe, she cast a silent charm. Two thin silvery necklaces appeared out of thin air in front of Harry and Ron.

"These will protect you from any minor hex or curse. Wear them all the time, just in case," Hermione choked out.

They both nodded solemnly and stood in silence long after Hermione had levitated her trunk and left the Gryffindor common room for perhaps the last time.

~~~

Hermione had been staring at the eagle statue for nearly ten minutes, mentally berating herself. Idiot. She hadn't thought to ask for the password to get to Dumbledore's office. She finally turned, resigned to returning to the Gryffindor common room for the night. Starting down the hallway dejectedly, she was so upset that she nearly ran into someone.

"I'm so sor-!" Hermione began, but stopped short. She was face to face with Professor Snape, nearly a quarter of an hour past curfew.

"Setting a fine example for fellow students, the Gryffindor prefects," he sneered, yellowish teeth bared. "May I ask why you are wandering the halls at this time?"

Hermione swallowed. "Professor Dumbledore sent me a note, asking me to meet him in his office at 9:00. I only just realized I don't know the password," Hermione stuttered, heart beating out of her ribcage and feeing close to tears. For Merlin's sake, this whole situation was stressful enough with Snape getting involved!

"May I see the note?" Snape drawled, holding out a long, slender hand.

Fumbling in her robes, she hastily snatched the parchment and thrust it into her professor's waiting palm. "I don't know what it means, so please don't ask," Hermione said nervously, wringing her hands.

Snape merely glanced at the parchment and handed it back. "I suppose Professor Dumbledore has his reasons. I will accompany you to his office."

"Sir, that's really not ne-" Hermione began earnestly, but she was cut off by a stern look. "Yes, thank you, sir," she mumbled, trailing behind Snape's billowing cloak.

When they reached the giant eagle statue, Snape stopped and muttered, "Fizzing Wizzbee."

The statue slowly disappeared, revealing a moving set of stairs rather like a Muggle escalator. Hermione stepped onto the first step and heard Snape get on a few steps behind her. Slowly, the pair of them rose higher and higher to the Headmaster's private office.

Once they reached the top, Hermione turned to thank Snape, but he swept past her and knocked neatly on the door. It opened almost immediately. "Come in, Miss Granger. Severus, you may leave. Thank you for escorting Miss Granger here," Dumbledore called from behind his desk, blue eyes sparkling behind his half-moon spectacles.

Snape half-bowed stiffly and stepped back onto the staircase which took him back down. Hermione slowly entered the study, trying to examine every minute detail.

"Come, sit here. Good, you brought your trunk. Misters Potter and Weasley are unaware of or meeting, correct?"

"Yes," Hermione managed, almost collapsing into the plush chair in front of the large desk. Her throat was suddenly dry. "They think I'm going home to tend to my ill mum."

Dumbledore nodded. "Unfortunately, the nature of your task is very secret. We haven't much time to explain, so I'll just begin. What do you know of Professor Snape?"

Hermione blinked several times, making sure she heard the professor correctly. He nodded his head slightly, indicating she did hear correctly.

"Well, he is a Death Eater turned spy, working for the Order," Hermione replied, unsure of what else she should say. He enjoyed tormenting students? He was a greasy, foul, bullying git?

Dumbledore nodded. "His life as a student here at Hogwarts was a difficult one. He had only two friends, one of whom left him his fifth year and the other of whom didn't meet him until his sixth year."

Hermione nodded, unsure of what meaning she was to take of this. Perhaps her mission was to find one of these friends? Track him down over several countries? But wouldn't one of the older Order members be better suited-?

Dumbledore interrupted her rapid thoughts with a single, life shattering sentence. "The second friend is you, Miss Granger."


	2. Chapter 2

"The second friend is you, Miss Granger."

"Me? How can that be?" Hermione gasped, vision going blurry for a moment.

Dumbledore looked at her thoughtfully over his half-moons, stroking his long silver beard. "Your task is to go back in time to befriend Severus Snape. It is vital to our cause that Severus makes it to the present unharmed, and the only way this can be accomplished is if he has a friend to help him."

Hermione closed her eyes, feeling the tears spilling over her eyelids. She took in a shaky breath. "What do you need from me?”

~~~

"Are you ready, Miss Granger?" Dumbledore asked nearly an hour later.

"I think so," Hermione replied, head swimming.

"I have a message for you to give to me. It is vital that I receive it immediately." Dumbledore reached into his desk and pulled out a folded piece of parchment. "Don't worry about it falling into the wrong hands, only two people can read this language and one of them hasn't been seen in quite some time."

Hermione nodded. "Yes sir. I am ready whenever you are."

Dumbledore stood and came around his desk, sleeve nearly covering his dead, blackened hand.

"The entire Wizarding World depends on you, Hermione. I know you can do it." It was a soft, heartfelt statement that chilled Hermione to the core.

"I-" Hermione began, tears welling in her eyes.

"Ad praeteritum!" Dumbledore cried, and Hermione felt the floor under her feet give way and she hurtled through nothingness.

~~~

Hermione Granger landed with a sharp jolt on the purple carpeted floor of the Headmaster's office.

She looked to her left, where there was a glass cabinet that acted a mirror. Her reflection stared back, defiantly shocked.

"May I help you, young lady?" a familiar voice asked just feet away. Hermione jumped, eyes turning to Dumbledore. He looked almost the exact same as her Dumbledore, except his hair was several inches shorter and was tinged red.

"I have a letter for you," Hermione blurted out, reaching into her robes for the parchment Dumbledore had given her. She took a few steps forward and handed it to this new Dumbledore, who sat behind his desk.

Dumbledore unfolded the parchment and for a second his eyebrows raised in surprise, but they settled as he read the contents.

"I see. I assume you will be a Slytherin, judging by your colours."

Hermione nodded, suppressing a shudder.

"Who are you?" asked Dumbledore, peering at her over his half-moons.

"My name is Hermione Granger, and I was home-schooled until this year when my parents died in an auto accident. I have no living family, but as I'll be of age this summer, I can provide for myself."

Dumbledore nodded. "I see you have your school things, Miss Granger. And upon your arrival we had a small Sorting ceremony here in my office and you were put into Slytherin, correct?" His lips twitched as Hermione nodded eagerly. "Very good. I will call the Head of Slytherin House to escort you to your room. Please try to be at breakfast on time tomorrow, wouldn't want any more attention." His eyes twinkled and he wrote a quick note on a spare bit of parchment, blew on it, and watched it speed away.

~~~

"Got your note, Dumbledore. A new student, you sa-? Ahh!" Slughorn's face split into a smile when he saw Hermione. "And what's your name, then?"

Hermione stood from the chair in front of Dumbledore's desk, nerves bubbling in her stomach. Slughorn was much younger than she knew him, with a lot more (brown) hair and a lot less stomach. "Hermion Granger, sir. And you are-?"

"Horace Slughorn, Head of Slytherin and Potions Master here at Hogwarts."

Hermione beamed. "Potions is my favourite subject!"  _At least it is now._

"Then you two should get along quite nicely. Perhaps you should invite her to your next dinner, Horace," Dumbledore smiled, looking back and forth between Slughorn and Hermione.

"Depends on how well she does in class." Slughorn winked at her.

Hermione laughed, trying not to be too obnoxious or unSlytherin. All of her former prejudice for the green and silver house would have to be buried deep down for the next... well, forever, Hermione realized.

She felt the world tip a bit as she realized truly what she'd gotten herself into. This was a lifetime commitment; 24/7 acting with no break, ever.

"Are you alright? Look a bit off," Slughorn asked, taking a concerned step forward.

"Just tired, sir," Hermione mumbled, trying to reel herself in. I'll never be able to talk to anyone I know ever again.

"Well, of course, it's nearly midnight," Slughorn exclaimed. "Merlin's beard, there's class tomorrow!"

"Goodnight Professor, Miss Granger," Dumbledore bowed his head in dismissal.

"Goodnight, sir," Hermione sighed, following Slughorn out the door and down the escalator stairs. The trip down to the Great Hall was a familiar one, but Hermione took special care to walk slowly and gaze around in wonder (which wasn't too difficult; even after six years the castle was still full of intrigue.)

Slughorn chatted happily as they made their way to the Great Hall, but once they reached the marble staircases, he stopped. "This is where we'll meet for breakfast tomorrow. I'm sure a fellow Slytherin will be glad to show you the way if you forget."

Hermione nodded, suddenly feeling exhausted. The night was finally catching up to her and she simply wanted to lay down and mourn her lost life.

She trailed behind Slughorn as they descended to the dungeons. Hermione pulled her robes closer to herself; the dungeons were always chilly, but especially so starting in October, and it was nearly Halloween.

After what felt like miles of walking in the damp, dismal dungeons, Slughorn finally halted at a dead end with a portrait of Salazar Slytherin.

"Good evening, sir," Slughorn called to the sleeping portrait.

Slytherin jumped, staring down indignantly at Hermione and Slughorn. "What hour is this, eh? Better be a good reason to wake me up so early."

Slughorn bowed. "I'm sorry, but we just received a new student. Hermione Granger was just sorted Slytherin."

Slytherin looked at Hermione with new interest. "New student... not a Mudblood, I pray?"

Hermione suppressed a flinch. "Of course not, I would be afraid to show my face anywhere half decent if I was anything but pureblood," Hermione sneered, the last bit of dignity she had remaining leaving her irrevocably.

Slughorn chuckled nervously. "Alright. Here's where I leave you. Turn right to find your bedroom. Good night, Miss Granger. See you at class tomorrow!"

Hermione gasped as the door swung open. The Slytherin common room was not so different from the Gryffindor, except it was green and silver and much more posh.

She didn't take in much more than a large couch before she stumbled up the stairs to her room (which was full of sleeping Slytherin girls) and fell into her bed, fully clothed.

~~~

Hermione woke to a sharp prod in the side. She sat up quickly, assessing the potential danger around her and snatching her wand off the bedside table.

"Woah," the girl who woke her said, holding up her hands. She had platinum blonde hair that went down past her shoulder blades and green eyes. "Just waking you up. We're heading down to breakfast. Got a note from Dumbledore saying we had a new classmate and to make sure you were on time. My name's Narcissa Black."

Hermione blinked, now fully awake. So Narcissa was the same age as Harry's parents... "Sorry, it's just... I'm Hermione Granger."

She hoped the name flowed naturally off her tongue, but then again any hesitance could be passed off as a result of her just waking up.

"We'll wait in the Common Room until you're ready. The bathroom is right over there-" Narcissa pointed to a door to the far left- "and all your stuff is in your trunk at the base of your bed. Don't take too long or I'll send up the boys," she added, the corner of her mouth twitching as she suppressed a smile.

Hermione nodded. "Won't be long. Thanks, Narcissa." She tried not to shudder as the words passed her tongue. This was Draco's mother, wife of Lucius Malfoy, supporter of Lord Voldemort. But not yet. Now, she was a student at Hogwarts who was living a normal, teenage life.

As the five or six girls quickly made their way downstairs to the Common Room, Hermione stood. A sharp, intense wave of melancholy swept over her and she nearly sat back down on her bed. Instead, she opened her trunk, grabbed her toiletries and clothing, and walked over to the bathroom.

~~~

The Common Room was nearly empty by the time Hermione made her way down there. Her roommates were sitting on the green leather couch that dominated the room, but there were several armchairs scattered throughout the room and a large fireplace that was popping happily.

Narcissa looked up and beamed at me. "There you are! We were starting to worry that you fell back asleep."

Hermione smiled back, stomach leaping again at the sight of Draco's mother. It would take a while to get used to seeing her.

They climbed out of the portrait and began the long trek to the Great Hall. Hermione was mostly quiet, trying to figure out some of the colloquialisms of the 1970s.

Her mind began to wander. If they were in 1976, her parents were engaged to be married. Her grandmother was still alive, and the name Hermione wouldn't mean anything to any of her family.

"...Potter," Narcissa sneered.

"Potter?" Hermione blurted. She felt her cheeks go pink as the girls all turned to her.

Narcissa smirked. "Yeah, James Potter. Stuck-up Gryffindor in our class. Complete arse. Why?"

"It's just... I knew a Potter back home," Hermione replied, feeling unbidden tears well in her eyes. "He was my best friend. One of my only friends, actually."

"Wonder if they're related," another Slytherin girl snickered. She was rather chubby and short with strawberry blonde hair.

Narcissa cast her a look. "Potter is a pureblood, so unless they're all Squibs, they're not related," she snapped nastily.

Hermione swallowed. "I'm hungry," she said quickly before the blonde could respond.

"We're nearly there," Narcissa sighed, continuing their journey.

~~~

"Here it is," Narcissa announced as they walked into the Dining Hall. "We sit at the third table."

All the way down the table near the staff table, several metres away from anyone else, sat a skinny boy with shining black hair. He was slouched over his plate, eating as fast as he could.

Hermione's heart jumped into her mouth. "Who's that?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

Narcissa sneered, following Hermione's gaze. "Severus Snape. Stay away from him."

"Why?"

Narcissa sat down, then shuddered. "He's creepy. No one likes him. Even the Mudbloods pity him."

Hermione swallowed with some difficulty. "He can't be that bad, can he?" She tried to sound as indifferent and uninterested as possible and failed.

Narcissa didn't seem to notice. "I dunno, haven't really talked to him. No one has."

Hermione beamed. Finally, she caught a break. "Is that a challenge?" she asked playfully.

Narcissa laughed uneasily. "If you sit with him you can't sit with us for a while. You'll be a pariah." There was a tinge of seriousness in her voice that disturbed Hermione. Surely Snape wasn't as bad as they said he was...

"I was homeschooled. I'm used to being a pariah," Hermione laughed, flouncing down the table and plopping down across from Snape.

She glanced back, smirking at the shocked looks on the girls faces. She raised her eyebrows at them.

"Can I help you?"

Hermione turned, startled by the familiar voice. It was slightly higher than she had heard it, but Snape's sneering drawl was the same as it was twenty years from now.

Snape cocked an eyebrow at her, his mouth set in a straight line and placing one hand on the table, pushing his empty plate away. Hermione had a feeling that his other hand was gripping his wand under the table.

"My name's Hermione. I'm new here." Her mouth was suddenly dry.

"And that pertains to me how?" Snape sneered.

"I... Don't know anyone, and this seat was empty, and you looked lonely," Hermione stumbled over the words, feeling her face heat up.

He's your classmate, not your professor, Hermione reminded herself.

Snape's face went completely blank, his eyes going from slightly amused to angry. "They made you do this, didn't they? Thought it would be a good prank? Yes, very funny," Snape snarled, standing. Hermione reached across the table and grabbed his wrist before he could walk away.

Snape flinched as if struck.

"I just arrived here last night, and I need a friend who won't stab me in the back. I have a feeling you're one of the few people in this house who can do that," Hermione said, voice low. She couldn't let his first impression of her be bad.

Snape's eyes softened a bit and he looked Hermione over slowly. "Alright, I'll sit down. Please let go of me, I can't feel my fingers."

Hermione quickly withdrew her arm. "Sorry, I didn't realize-"

"It's okay," Snape sighed with a small, rueful smile. "I'm Severus, by the way. You said you were Hermione?"

Hermione nodded.

Snape held out a hand. "I apologize for my behaviour, Hermione. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Hermione took his hand and shook it, smiling at him.

And Snape smiled back.


End file.
